Opinions on the AMD Phenom, anyone?

[flvegan]

I've got to replace my carcass of a rig, and this is the processor I'm leaning towards.

It's the 9500 at 2.2GHz, if that makes a difference.

Anyone running with this or know folks who are?

[LeftyMom]

1. You got the link I sent you?

Damn, the price has gone down on those.

Also, I promise never to light your computer on fire with my tits again.

[ghostsofgiants]

25. "I promise never to light your computer on fire with my tits again. "

You can't say that and not give an explanation.

[DS1]

2. I was big on getting one, but my mind is shifting focus to a Core-Duo

albeit a fast one.

[flvegan]

3. In English, my friend.

Say what?

[DS1]

6. I'm leaning more towards a Core2-Duo, Intel

I was really looking forward to the Phenom, but it seems kind of meh

[leftyclimber]

11. I have a Core Duo

It runs really hot, but is very whizzy. Get an extra fan if you go this route.

[DS1]

14. thanks for that

I never overclock, but I do buy aftermarket CPU fans. The run quieter, and cooler. And I hate noise.

[ghostsofgiants]

23. I'm throwing a Scythe Ninja REV.B fanless heatpipe cooler into my new PC.

It's a beast. Might attach a 120mm fan to it if it doesn't cool as well as I'd like, but it'll be hella quiet.

That's gonna be on a Core2 quad most likely. Ballin'!

[DS1]

28. I've been switching to 120mm as much as possible

My power supply is 450w, tiny compared to some options, but its got a very slow 120mm fan and I love how quiet it is.

My next purchase, and I feel so strongly about this that price takes a back seat, will be a motherboard that has passive cooling all over. I'm tired of the Northbridge/Southbridge chips overheating and making the fans run fast.

A very smart man once said "A machine that requires fans isn't well engineered" (or words to that effect)

[ghostsofgiants]

32. Yeah, my current case runs 120mm fans.

The Asus P5K, which I am getting, has a heatpipe cooler on the chipset instead of a fan as well. I want my computer to be nice and quiet, I'm sick of the damn CPU cooler fan, haha.

[DS1]

34. You and me both

I want my system to be silent. A few clicks here and there from the disk drive is okay, but no more fans.

[Deja Q]

4. I recall that, when it came out, it was rather slower than Intel's Q6600 processor...

And the Q6600 (G0 stepping) can easily be overclocked to 3.0GHz with no risk to the CPU (native speed is 2.4GHz). And those tests were ran against the Phenom 9700.

Now the Q6600 is something like $275 and Phenom's price is going to be rather less, but I'd switch back to Intel if I were you.

http://www.devhardware.com/forums/amd-processors-31/intel-q6600-vs-amd-phenom-9700t-169919.html
(A couple posts down links to some pretty damning benchmark tests)

[deucemagnet]

5. I can't tell you anything about AMD processor,

but if you're looking for a good deal on a powerful machine, check this out:

http://www.buy.com/prod/gateway-gt5628-quad-core-desktop-intel-core-2-q6600-2-4ghz-quad-core/q/loc/101/207544960.html

I bought one a few months ago, and it had a few problems, but they were easily fixable. If you decide to buy one, just PM me and I'll let you know what problems I experienced and how to fix them. Now it's running like a champ, and I'm loving the 2.4 gig quad core! :woohoo:

[mainegreen]

7. AMD, not so hot this cycle.

Intel's the one to get this time around.

Dont forget to multiply your CPU Hz by the front side bus clock speed to get your real machine speed.

That can really make the minimal difference in seeming CPUs speeds vs seemingly higher price differentials more clear, if you match the CPUs to their sockets and see the FSB speeds available for that socket type.

[mike_c]

8. I don't know anything about that particular processor, BUT...

...in my experience the decent-to-top-end Intel and AMD CPUs are both just fine as long as you run them on a good motherboard. Don't skimp on the MB and you'll likely be happy for a long time if the CPU is even half decent. In the past, AMDs ran much cooler, and therefore quieter-- that will be a consideration when I buy a new rig, but otherwise, I'll be looking for a board with features that will keep me happy for several years.

[Pierre.Suave]

9. ...

http://www.macconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=7586201

if you want an even cheaper one:

http://www.macconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=7586198

[DS1]

10. Dude

That's not helping

[Adsos Letter]

12. LOL!

WHERE is that photo from?! :rofl:

[DS1]

13. LOST

Character called Hurley, who starts most profound things with "Dude," in different mannerisms of dude.

[Adsos Letter]

15. Thanks...

I am just about totally out of touch with modern culture :D

[DS1]

17. That's okay, I just caught up to all 4 seasons about 2 months ago

and Hurley is a very likable character.

LOST fans would recognize his "Dude, this isn't helping" :)

or "Deyood! I don't want to hear this right now"

I can do them all ;-)

[ghostsofgiants]

21. Hurley is great.

I'm dying for the new ARG to start in a month so I have something to satiate my Lost cravings until season 5. x(

[DS1]

26. What's ARG?

and yes, I can do every one of Hurley's "Dude"s :7

douhd

[ghostsofgiants]

29. Alternate reality game

Kind of an online treasure hunt.

http://blog.lostpedia.com/2008/06/ogr-at-comic-con-confirmation.html

This is the third one they've done.
http://lostpedia.com/wiki/The_Lost_Experience
http://lostpedia.com/wiki/Find_815

[LeftyMom]

16. Oh my god, it's Holly.

(in-joke, only the OP will get it.)

[DS1]

18. heh

I can imagine

or maybe not

[flvegan]

19. Whoa.

She has a beard?

That's something.

[LeftyMom]

20. She's got some kind of facial hair thing getting started on a couple of her chins.

:scared:

[Pierre.Suave]

24. DOOOOODDD

this is helping...

Not a lost fan, but I read the thread...

I think anyone considering a new PC now has to consider a mac in one form or another, there are cheaper Macs out there too.

[DS1]

27. Yeah. But dood, some people already have the software license

for their OS, and don't have to buy a new one when they build a new computer. Plus, we can get a new chip and typically a new motherboard and it will accept the old ram. We can upgrade the RAM easier, and cheaper later. We can simply drop in the new components, and have a faster system, and if Windows activation freaks out, just call the number they give you, tell them you're reinstalling, and they'll give a new code and it's done.

I get that Macs are good for computing appliances, in the sense that you buy one, use it, and upgrade to the next and throw the old one away. I'd rather only pay the upgrades I need. Faster processor? Already upgraded that. Upgrade my soundcard? Already done that too. Add a 5th hard drive, done that. Still have the same keyboard, speakers, mouse, monitor, case, power supply, RAM, etc. But I won't need to pay the expense of any of them when if I upgrade all at once.

How many Mac owners can do that, so easily?

[ghostsofgiants]

30. Nevermind that if you don't mind flying the Jolly Roger you can install OS X on PC hardware nowadays

If you feel guilty about it, Hell, but a copy of OS X anyway but used the OS X86 or something.

[DS1]

33. I hadn't looked into that

until now... :evilgrin:

[ghostsofgiants]

35. Google OSX86 and Kalyway.

My new computer is gonna be dual booting XP and OS X.

[Pierre.Suave]

38. Meh

who wants to do all that work, when you can buy one that will work for 5-6 or more years just fine and then buy a new one?

I know people that are using macs even older than that, a ram upgrade, and they are going strong.

[ghostsofgiants]

43. I for one take great personal satisfaction in building and maintaining my own computer.

Especially knowing I could build the equivalent of a Mac Pro for a fraction of the price.

[Pierre.Suave]

44. I dont like that at all

I just want to turn it on and have it work, forever.

[ghostsofgiants]

22. Or you can spend even less, build a PC and just run an OSX86 setup on it.

Sure it might not be as pretty, but it's the non-sucker option if you were to insist on getting a Mac.

[DS1]

36. non-sucker option

I lol'd

thanks for the links, I'll definitely check these things out

[ghostsofgiants]

37. I like to help, haha.

[Deja Q]

39. Which isn't entirely legal, OX86, but it's all good...

If Apple opened their OS on the market, they'd prosper at least as well as they do triple-charging for the same hardware the rest of us buys...

Either way, they know the iphone would sell more units so why do they cling to their desktop platform?

[ghostsofgiants]

42. Yeah, like I said above, you need to fly the Jolly Roger, haha.

Yarr.

[Deja Q]

40. We want PCs. Not overpriced toys.

:P

(You should see the Gateway notebook with the 8800M video processor, 2.2gb RAM, 17" screen, Vista64... loaded and blazing, and everyone knows the performance differential between the 8600 and 8800 is no small thing. It's $1300 at best buy which means $1000~$1100 online. :7 )

[Pierre.Suave]

41. K

I will stick with my mac.

[Fairnessaboveall]

31. Intel is better

I hear it's superior than the AMD.

[hobbit709]

45. If I could afford it, I'd get this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103249
I'll NEVER buy Intel again. Never had AMD processors quit on me the way Pentiums have.

[PBS Poll-435]

46. Get a processor that ends in 50

The B3 revision of the 2.2 GHz is called the Phenom 9550.

There was a virtualization bug in the B2 revision.

I built a new rig with a 9850 Black edition running at 2.8 GHz.

Speedy.


AND NOT INTEL.

[flvegan]

47. So if it ends in 00, it's no good?

[PBS Poll-435]

48. It's not terrible, and i will tell you why.

The extremely rare "bug" that appeared in the B2 revision of the Barcelona/Agena silicon only appeared in virtualization environments such as servers and datafarms. People were offered tons of cash to reproduce the error in a desktop home/office environment. Didn't happen

For desktop use, the Phenom B2 or B3 is a good choice as long as you pair it with a solid AM2+ mainboard.

The B3 revision is slightly better because of higher overclocking potential.